The Hopkins and Martin High School varsity football teams remained unbeaten Friday night and improved their season records to 6-0.
Hopkins clinched a Division 5 post-season playoff berth with a 44-12 decision over Wyoming Godwin Heights. The Vikings are closing in on clinching at least a share of the O-K Silver Conference championship for the second year in a row.
Meanwhile, Martin made the long trip to Bridgman near the Indiana border for a showdown between two unbeaten eight-man teams. The Clippers prevailed 50-16. They led 16-8 at the half and the two teams were tied at 16-all in the third period when they exploded for 34 unanswered points.
Cayden Curry rushed for 251 yards on 25 carries, racking up five touchdowns to lead the offensive charge.
“We’ve had a number of different players step up all year; tonight it was Cayden’s turn, and he delivered for us all night,” coach Brad Blauvelt said.
The offense totaled just over 440 yards of total offense, with 390 of those coming on the ground.
“The offensive line, Donavon Moss, Josh Smith, Ethan Gillihan and Mitch Jager, played outstanding all night long,” the coach said. “We were able to put long drives together, which kept Bridgman’s offense off the field.”
Gabe Meyers and freshman Chris Tuinstra both added rushing touchdowns.
“Defensively, we played well.” Blauvelt added. “Our goal was to keep them to 17 points or less and we accomplished just that; holding them to 16. We wanted to make them put drives together.”
Brayden Eckman led the way defensively, making 10 tackles, Travis Thorne accounted for seven tackles and forced a fumble. Quinn Gorton added four tackles and a fumble recovery.
“Our defense is good; we are giving up an average of 10 points a game,” the coach remarked. “It was a total team effort, everyone on the team contributed, they all did their jobs and that was the key to the game. I am very proud of the kids. This was an important stepping stone for us.”
